Speaking with a true legend, receiving career advice from Barry Silkman, Dubai tomorrow........

I'm not a great lover of networking. Ostensibly, because I'm not very good at it. I've always believed& your tongue was meant for tasting and talking with, not sticking it up someone's rectum. Yet it was this practice (networking, not rectum probing) that saved me from going skint back in 1999.

Having been made redundant from the Sporting Life, I was struggling badly. I had lost my 'rendundo' and I couldn't see any light at the end of the tunnel.Then a fairy godmother arrived in the shape of a girl called Nicola. A former girlfriend of Jason Weaver who had recently got married to Gary Stevens.

The Hall Of Fame rider had landed a job as first jockey to Sir Michael Stoute and Nicola suggested me as his agent, on the back of the work I had done for Weaver four years previously, Despite Stevens staying only four months, he wowed crowds with his riding and his charm. I earned enough to survive and eventually prosper.

The reason I mention this is that Stevens contacted me on Twitter today - first time in 4 years - and he was no different. A class act, even if after one of his early rides he said to me 'you couldn't tell the difference between shit and sugar.'

Rides for Saturday will be completed tomorrow (they are ok but it's a poor card) but Kieren will again be riding for the gregarious football agent Barry Silkman, another whom I seeked career advice from last year.

Before I took over Kieren in May,  I was looking to doing something else. I fancied the idea of being a football agent. I got the necessary forms, applied to do the exams required and had a sponsor lined up to pay the fee.

When I asked Silkman if he thought I would do ok, he replied " You have absolutely no chance, Tezza. You don't talk enough bollock" Really, I think a number of people would disagree with you, Bazza.

Kieren has five rides at the Dubai Carnival tomorrow. The three for Luca are coming back from injury or rest, Secrecy (winner at Kempton) runs on Tapeta for the first time while Winker Watson is struggling for form.

Terry